Football
Season is here, so make sure you protect those ears!
For many the
arrival of the crisp and beautiful autumn season brings the changing color of
the leaves, pumpkin flavored everything, and of course the start of an exciting
football season! For many football fans supporting their favorite team may
involve screaming their lungs out, along with thousands of other fans. In
addition some fans may have seats close to a loudspeaker or a pep band. As you
can imagine or may have experienced yourself football games can get quite loud,
even dangerously loud. The average crowd noise at an NFL football game is 80-90
decibels and reached a world record breaking level of 137 decibels last
December at the Seattle Seahawks game. According to the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health more than 15 minutes of exposure to 100 decibels
can be damaging to adults and even more so to children. Children have smaller
ears and the sound pressure level entering the ear is greater. There are many
options available to protect the ears of young children and adults from
exposure to dangerous noise levels.
As CSD
students it is very important to be aware of the potential for noise induced
hearing loss (NIHL) when exposed to dangerous levels of noise at football games
and other loud events. While JMU football games or some NFL football games may
not be quite as loud as the world record breaking game last year, it is still
important to protect those ears. It’s also important to spread awareness to
friends and family members who are not familiar with how loud these events can
be and the detrimental effects it can have on hearing.
Some tips to consider before your
next football game:
· Bring
ear plugs with you and have them ready just in case the game gets too loud.
· Download
a Sound Level Meter app on your phone before the game. While these are not 100% accurate they may be a useful guide when trying to determine if the game is
dangerously loud.
· Try
to avoid sitting too close to loud speakers or pep bands.
Below are some links related to this
post.
New York Times article on protecting
the ears of young children at football games:
NPR’s article on the risk of NIHL
that NFL football fans may face:
CDC chart of recommended noise
exposure limits guided by OSHA standards:
Are you excited for
football season? Feel free to leave
comment and let me know your thoughts on this topic!